Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Chisuke is my baby, though.

Warnings: Rated T


A/N: I'm going to apologize in advance for any typos and spelling errors in this chapter. I'm not having much luck with DocX today. . .


It was the evening of her second day in the Namikaze household when Kushina entered the family room, a medium-sized turquoise box and a stack of thick white paper in her arms.

"I found it, ya know!"

Chisuke tilted her head, eyeing the brightly colored box warily as the bubbly redhead plopped herself on the rug covered floor. "These are Naru-chan's old art supplies. She got them for her birthday, but she never uses them since she's. . . not exactly adept with this kinda thing-- She takes after her mother in that sense, ya know!," Kushina gestured to herself, grinning brightly. "I figured, since you liked the pictures in that one book-- you might enjoy drawing your own, dattebane!"

The lid flipped open, revealing a mess different colored pens, pencils, and inks. Kushina haphazardly dumped the contents onto the table and sorted through the objects by color until they were seperated into neat piles. "Now, I have to pick up Naruto at the village gates. She's getting back from a short trip with Jaraiya. I won't be gone for more than twenty minutes," she smiled, "Will you be okay on your own while I'm away?"

Satisfied when the four-year-old girl gave a silent nod, Kushina shrugged on her black purse and turned to leave, only to be stopped by a quiet whisper, "A--Ano. . ."

The Uzumaki paused, glancing over her shoulder at Chisuke.

". . .How--How do I. . .know. . .what to d--draw?," came the hesitant inquiry. Kushina gave a soft smile, crouching beside her and pressing a red crayon into Chisuke's small palm. "You can draw whatever you want. Flowers, dogs, people--," she paused, poking her gently above her heart, "You can draw anything that makes you happy."

'Anything. . . that makes me happy.'


Minato and Kushina trailed behind their daughter, amused smiles on both of their faces as she hopped and skipped gleefully.

"I'm going to have a new friend, I'm going to have a new friend!," she whipped around, golden locks twirling, and waved her hands excitedly, "A new friend, a new friend, dattebayo!"

"Naruto. . ." Minato sweatdropped. "Chisuke is very shy, so try not to be too loud, okay?"

The second half of the sentence was seemingly lost on excited blonde's ears, and she snapped her head up, a fiery look in her periwinkle eyes, "Shy, dattebayo?," she asked incredulously. "We can't have that. I'lll have to fix that problem right away," she cried, bumping her fist to her palm determinedly. "I'll introduce her to all of my friends-- Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, Teme--"

She paused as she spotted their two storied home and, immediately forgetting her father's words, she zipped to the front door, kicking it open harshly.

Minato paled, bolting in behind his daughter. "N--Naruto, wait--!"

His cry fell on deaf ears, and she ran into the family room.

Minato watched dejectedly as Chisuke bolted from her seat, her limbs locking and panic flashing in her eyes pitifully. Naruto screeched into the room at full speed, her feet sliding against the wooden floor, barely gaining enough friction to stop her before she face-planted into the wall. Her toothy grin, glittering eyes, and. . . strikingly orange jumpsuit were on full display, seemingly causing her to glow.

"You must be 'Suke-chan, dattebayo!," came the obnoxiously loud deduction, and Chisuke stumbled, the middle of her back hitting the chair behind her when the blonde bolted forward, eagerly snatching the redhead's hands into her own and leaning forward. With their faces barely an inch apart, Naruto beamed, whiskers scrunching on her cheeks, "Let's be friends, dattebayo!"

Minato followed quietly heaving a sigh as Chisuke jumped, her frozen state of shock locking even tighter when he planted a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Settle down, Naruto-chan. Don't you remember what we talked about?," he chided. Periwinkle met blue and Minato nodded at his daughter, who immediately dropped the redhead's hands.

With her hands free, the young girl scrambled, placing the chair between her and Naruto. Holding the wood in a white knuckled grip, she peeked through the slats, nails digging painfully into them. With a glance at Naruto's worried expression, the Namikaze released her shoulder and crouched to the four-year-old's eye level.

"Chisuke-chan," he called softly, and she flinched, snapping her eyes to him, "Naruto-chan didn't mean to scare you," he smiled and beckoned her over. "Come on, let's try this again, hm?"

His tone seemed to calm her and she abruptly released the wood and tottered to his side, leaving tiny crescent dents in her wake. Fisting the fabric of his sleeve into her tiny hands, she hid her body behind his, peering his daughter with a fearful yet curious gaze.

Naruto smiled gently, "My name is Naruto," she reintroduced herself, voice toned down to just above a whisper, "It's lovely to meet you, Chisuke-chan." Then, after a moment she added, "I like your eyes-- they're so pretty, dattebayo!"

Minato winced as the last sentence came out as more of an outside voice and Chisuke jumped slightly. The redhead hesitantly reached out to the hand Naruto had offered and the blonde beamed, shaking it gently.

A deep sigh of relief escaped the Yondaime and he smiled softly, patting the tiny girl's red, red, red hair, "Good girl, 'Suke--chan."

And with those simple words, Minato watched as her eyes glazed over with confusion, and sadness--deep, deep fractured despair and helplessness. . .

And hope.


Minato buried his face in his hands, heaving a deep sigh. "Her speech patterns are. . . abnormal, to say the least-- and she has quite a few other developmental delays."

It was late into the night. Minato had just gotten home, dragging Shisui behind him, and both children were tucked soundly into bed.

The Uchiha stared dejectedly into his tea for a moment, deep in thought, "It was hard to tell what she was saying in the hospital room, but from what I could make out, it sounded as if she were living on the streets for. . . too long. Her mother's body was found in the Red-Light District, and Chisuke herself only a few blocks down from where her mother was," he said.

Minato nodded, sipping his own tea slowly, "I think it's safe to say she's probably been out there for a while. . . There". were rumours-- about an Uzumaki woman, correct?," he sent a questioning gaze to Kushina and she nodded.

"There were a few, yes. But that was two years ago-- I couldn't find anything confirming them. Wait, Minato, you don't think--"

"That's exactly what I think. It only makes sense. She said her mother was sick. That Uzumaki women that the rumours mentioned? The body the Genma found a few months back matches all of the descriptions from the rumours. The woman died of some unknown illness and--," he heaved a deep sigh, ". . .with the amount of developmental delays Chisuke has been displaying. . . Well I think it's safe to say that she's been alone for quite some time."

Kushina frowned thoughtfully, setting her cup down with a clink before standing, hands planted firmly on her lips. "It matters not--"

"Kushi--"

"We don't need to know what happened right away-- the only person who knows is Chisuke herself, and I'm am not about to let anybody get close enough to question her and make her relive those memories until she is ready to tell us on her own. For now, we can simply do our best to help her--"

"Kushina--"

"She is an Uzumaki, is she not?," under Kushina's scrutiny, Minato nodded silently, words dying upon his lips. "Then, as head of the Uzumaki clan, I am responsible for her. Completely. No matter what. She is a child of the Uzumaki, a child of my family's blood, and therefore a child of my own."

". . .Does that mean you are going to adopt her, then?"

Two heads simultaneously whipped towards Shisui (who cringed at the sharp snapping noise that the sudden movement caused).

"What?," husband and wife looked at the onyx-eyed twelve year old incredulously, their words coming out in unison. Shisui continued, "She's an Uzumaki. . . Both of you already seem to treat her like she's your own daughter," he scratched his head nervously. "I thought-- well, since she is an Uzumaki, you know. . . It just makes sense to me that you'd want to adopt her."

Before either could respond, Shisui added one last point, his deep eyes narrowing on Minato seriously, "Also. . . She trusts you, Hokage--sama. . . She's only comfortable with you, Kushina-san and myself. . . And, well, forgive me for my rudeness but. . . I feel as if shipping her off to anybody else would be akin to betrayal in her eyes."


"Goin'. . . to th' market?," came Chisuke's soft, confused voice.

"Yes. We like to go as a family on Saturdays," Minato smiled softly, placing his warm hand on the crown of her head. "Shisui--san was planning on tagging along this time around and we were hoping you'd like to come too but it's your decision, Chisuke-chan."

Her heterochromic eyes glazed as yearning passed through them, and she stared into his blue orbs, as if trying to find truth or reason behind his words, "As. . . as a fa--m'ly?," she whispered.

Minato nodded encouragingly, his heart aching for the girl. "Of course. It's all up to you. If you want to stay, that's perfectly fine--"

"I--I wan' go, please. . ."

Minato paused, wondering whether he'd heard her correctly. He beamed and patted her head, "Good choice, 'Suke--chan!" The little girl seemed to light up at the praise, despite her lack of smile, and she tentatively placed her hand into his.


Re: 6/11/22

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A/N:

Very short chapter-- I'm really sorry about this. I was planning on adding a few more scenes to this, but DocX is giving me. . . a LOT of problems, so this is all I could get out today. Hopefully, the next chapter will be a long one!

Ciao!~